KISS and Def Leppard played a show last night, Aug 2 2014 in Atlantic City . They play Camden tonight. While most people can tell you that if you gamble the house has better odds, it' s clear the fans won last night as the show was a pure throwback rock and roll concert.

Some folks will tell you KISS is not the same without Ace and Peter, they are right. No band is the same band that does not have all original members so it's time to give that argument a rest and join the party. Naysayers are denying themselves a spot at a good rock show. The show last night was supposed to be over at 11:00 p.m. But, when you have been doing this for as long as KISS has, you can stay out as late as you want, and that's what happened. KISS did not clear the stage until about 11:15 p.m.

This was a co headline show with Def Leppard. They started in the late 1970,s and made their American debut with Ted Nugent in 1980 at the old Spectrum. Unfortunately, Def Leppard has an idiot working for them that denied all of the media credentials for the show, meanwhile every fan with a cellphone can post crappy pix to their Facebook page. It defies logic.They must think that the band will ride KISS' coat tails. So in the interest of being fair, Def Lep showed and and played a bunch of songs that people were familiar with. The crowd seemed to like them but the crowd response was lackluster compared with KISS. Surely,they knew what was to come later and wanted to see it.. On a positive note, it was great to see Vivian Campbell on stage after his battle with cancer. Hopefully it has left him forever.

If you are reading this review in the month of August go early. There is a support act called The Dead Daisey's. They are really good.

KISS brought out concussion grenades that you can feel go through your body even if you are seated in the back. For those that do sit in the back, during "Love Gun" Paul Stanley flies through the air, and sings from a smaller ,circular stage before flying back to do "Black Diamond".

During a co headline show each band is given about 75 to 80 minutes to play. You would think that would mean a band would play their greatest hits collection and be done with it. Not KISS. They trotted out "Hotter Than Hell" and Gene Simmons breathed fire. They even brought out "Hide Your Heart" from the Hot In the Shade album . They last played that song here at the Spectrum June 26 1990.

KISS had another treat as they brought out Phil Collen from Def Lep to play Deuce. Eric Singer,s drum set rose into the air later in the show and Tommy Thayer shot quite a few rockets from his guitar and then, well wait a minute, it's not fair to go over the entire show here. See it for yourself. Ticket prices areas obscene as a porn movie but if you go here, it's the official Live Nation website. You can buy a lawn seat for around $20.00. Go here to find out if the tour comes near you.

THIS ARTICLE AND ALL PHOTOS ARE COPYRIGHT BY ALEX LLOYD GROSS AND MAY NOT BE REPUBLISHED OR RE POSTED TO ANY OTHER MEDIUM. LINKING BACK TO THIS PAGE IS PERMITTED AND ENCOURAGED.

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Alex Lloyd Gross has been documenting news for over 35 years. Published in just about every metropolitan paper in the Delaware Valley, Mr. Gross is known for his ability to get the news, get the photos and get it right. Mr. Gross has extensive knowledge of news photography.